Laboratory Evaluation of the Biochemical Parameters in the Haemolymph of the Lepidopteran Larvae after Stinging by the Potter Wasp, Eumenes Conica (Insecta: Hymenoptera)

Potter wasps belong to the subfamily Eumeninae of the family Vespidae. Potter wasp is a common name given for a group of caterpillar hunting wasp which builds the pot-shaped mud nests. Initially the wasp constructs the nest and then starts hunting for its prey, the caterpillars. The prey is stung and paralyzed by the wasp then brought to the nest. It is perhaps a very highly specific behavior of these wasps. The female wasp lays her egg on the prey. The egg is firmly attached to the prey and the larva hatching out sucks the haemocoel which oozes out from the prey. In the present study, the biochemical changes in the haemolypmh of Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), before and after stinging by the potter wasp were observed. There is considerable change in the nutritional physiology of parasitized prey. The successful development of the parasitoid depends on the concentration of the host haemolymph. Hosts do not survive and thus parasitoids play an important role in regulating the population of the hosts. Potter wasps nests can have one or more individual cells. When a cell is completed, the adult wasp collects caterpillars [5]. The potter wasps place from 1 to 12 caterpillars in their nests. The caterpillar is usually gripped in the mandibles of the wasp, pinned down and stung, which paralyses it with the venom without killing it [6]. The wasp flies all the way back to the nest, dragging the caterpillar along in her mandibles. The paralyzed caterpillar is placed into the nest. Some species put several small caterpillars into a single nest, while others use just one larger one. An egg is then laid in the nest. The wasp then seals up the nest with another layer of mud after this stage. The caterpillar is thus served as fresh, living food for the wasp larva following the larva’s hatching. The larva then pupates, and the emerging adult wasp breaks through the mud nest to begin its adult life. Potter wasps are omnivorous. Adults feed primarily on flower nectar. However, the young ones eat only the Lepidopteran larvae placed in the nest by the mother [7]. Females are known to store up to 12 caterpillars in their nests for the developing young. Potter wasps are both predators and prey in their ecosystem, and function to control caterpillar populations. Parasitic wasps frequently alter their host’s physiology following parasitism through a process known as host regulation [8]. These manipulations are mediated by factors introduced into hosts by the female wasp, such as venom and polydnavirus, larval secretions, or teratocytes derived from the serosal membrane of the parasitoid’s egg. These factors modify the physiology and immunology of the host in several ways in order to create a resource that is favourable for the development of the wasp’s progeny [9]. Such maternally-derived Citation: Susheela P (2014) Laboratory Evaluation of the Biochemical Parameters in the Haemolymph of the Lepidopteran Larvae after Stinging by the Potter Wasp, Eumenes Conica (Insecta: Hymenoptera). Entomol Ornithol Herpetol 3: 123. doi:10.4172/2161-0983.1000123